Cascade
by Oceanbourne
Summary: The redeemer can't return empty-handed to her people, but she doesn't know where to look. The wanderer can't return to hers at all, and she needs a new purpose after her last one was shattered.
1. Lunatic

The stars performed their galliard to the rhythm set by the silent symphony of the sky, but she disregarded all of the circling empyreal forms, save for one.

Her people named it the pearl of the sky. In less colloquial terms, it was known as the moon.

No one frequented the pond located at the top of the mound known as the Champion's Hill, named for the popularity of the spot with the various representatives of the League. At its foot was an impressive collection of vegetation, the results of the labor of the treacherous plant, Zyra. Contrary to her nature, the thorny woman's garden was not harmful in the least, and even sprouted forth a few medicinal plants which came to the aid of the Institute when its staff needed to address injuries.

Five hundred feet separated the apex of the hill and the ground, with various types of trees within its circumference. It wasn't uncommon for a champion to make a temporary stop here after a couple of particularly grueling League matches, often with a companion in tow as they would traverse the meandering paths which cut through the tall grass on the hill. Earlier that day, she had sat a short distance away from a blindfolded figure perched atop a fallen tree trunk, deep in meditation as he went through several aerobic exercises which he later claimed to relax the spirit and reach an inner peace. Lee Sin was one of the more frequent visitors to the Champion's Hill, and one she found to be quite pleasant company. His lack of sight appeared to give the monk a new perspective on life - a more careful, less impulsive path as he worked on his own personal atonement. She could feel the patience in his voice as he spoke to her, telling her many wonderful things about his homeland, to which she smiled and informed him she would like to visit one day.

At this time of the night, she was accustomed to being alone, bearing witness to the splendid sight of the sky, a dark indigo tapestry which held many secrets in its infinite bounds. What was it like on the moon? Did anyone live there? Had anyone on Runeterra gone that high, or was it even possible? There were so many unanswered questions, but she didn't feel too anxious about it. She hadn't been at the Institute for even a week, and many things were out there for her to pursue.

"You've been staring at it for quite some time," a voice to her side observed, making her jump in surprise. She had become so absorbed in her skyward fixation that she failed to notice the newcomer at the pond, a thin blonde woman wielding a crescent-shaped blade in her hand. The dark blue eyes regarded her without hostility, but she still held her weapon tightly, a testament of constantly living her life under constant threat. It was the mark on the woman's forehead which interested her the most, a white circle with a crescent moon shape oriented like a U beneath it. The sigil seemed to glow in the pale moonlight, making her feel a mix of fear and awe at this marked woman.

In her time spent scrutinizing the new arrival, she had almost forgotten she had been addressed. "Oh!" she finally answered, nearly fumbling her words. "Yeah, I have. It's… mesmerizing."

"It's quite a sight," the blonde woman agreed, taking a seat on the stone bench next to her. "There aren't many champions here who would agree with me," she added, a touch of bitterness flavoring her voice.

"Really?" she asked curiously. "I could stare at it for hours. Can't do the same with the sun, which is why I'm out here more at night."

The woman looked into the water, admiring the moon's reflection on the completely still surface for a second before tossing a small pebble into the pond. She watched the peaceful sight shatter as the ripples on the water radiated outwards, disrupting the image of the night sky and moon and causing her to see it in fragments rather than one complete picture.

"That's just one reason I kept telling them," the woman told her wistfully, the reference to the past not entirely getting to her listener. "How can you admire something which would burn your eyes out when you gazed upon it?"

"Well," she offered timidly, "seeing isn't always believing. Lee Sin's taught me how you can appreciate life without even using your sight."

The blonde woman scoffed. "That monk, always spewing his unfounded philosophies. It's a shame Ionia has the image of the rising sun on its banners. They would almost be likable if they too weren't so enchanted by that hellish fireball!"

She couldn't agree with the woman's perception of the Ionians; although she had only met a few, she like the ones she did encounter. "They're still a pretty nice crowd. I don't see why anyone could hate them."

Her counterpart let out a sigh, taking a few moments to steady her breath. "I have to remember not to let my temper get the best of me," she reminded herself. "The Starchild told me anger couldn't possibly be healthy for me."

"I'd agree," she told the lunar acolyte. "The only people here that always seem angry are those scary creatures of the Void, or the Noxian champions. You don't seem like either of them."

The woman turned to face her, a softer, more curious look on her face. "You're the new champion," she realized. "I guess I've forgotten my manners. My name -"

"You're Diana," she interrupted. "Sorry for cutting in, the name just popped up in my head. I remember hearing about your story. It must've been so difficult for you."

The Lunari nodded gravely. "It was a phase of my life that's come and gone now. Pay it no mind. I look to the future now, to the promise of each coming new moon." Her eyes narrowed as she changed the subject abruptly. "Why have you joined the League?" 

Taken aback by the sudden, as well as serious, question, she needed a moment to piece together her story. She had always needed a vessel to pour out her quest, the tale of her people. The council which ruled the Institute pretended to understand her plight, but they gave no tangible help to forward her efforts besides allowing her full access to almost every inch of the Institute. Yet it was too much to comprehend at once, and she was still overwhelmed, unsure where to begin. She wasn't even entirely sure why she was about to share her situation with this woman, an outcast to the other champions. But if the Institute had allowed Diana in, despite her turbulent past, then there was something good she could accomplish. The connection to the moon topped it off for her. Maybe the exchange would go through after all.

"The survival of my people hinges on a relic from the surface world being brought to us every hundred years. Without it, we can't hold back the monsters of the deep. There was supposed to be some landwalker I would meet with a moonstone, and I would give them a pearl from the bottom of the ocean in exchange. But when I came onto land, there was no one there at the meeting place.

"We don't have much time left before the deadline. I need to find it within half a year, so I came to the Institute looking for answers. They hadn't heard of our predicament, so they couldn't point me to where the moonstone or the deliverer would be. But I've just now realized… there isn't anyone here that's like you, is there? No one with ties to the moon except for you. I can't help but feel there's something deeper than this chance meeting."

She attempted to gauge the Lunari's reaction to her story, which didn't seem to change much apart from looks of understanding. The moment of silence which passed following her speech seemed to linger without ceasing, but eventually Diana spoke. "There were stories."

"Of what?" the Marai asked inquisitvely.

"It had taken me months of digging in the Solari archives before I could get any information of their civilization even being related to the moon. Hardly surprising, considering the fact that they tried to burn every book they had. It was only in the abandoned temples where I saw these stories, drawn out on the sides of the temple walls, a history told only in pictures," Diana related.

"Were… were my people in those murals?" she asked hopefully.

The moon's avatar nodded slowly. "A great Lunari heroine had uncovered a pale stone glowing a curiously white color. In my time at the archives, the only stones which could fit the description that the civilization had mined before its split were pale aquamarines, a very rare type of gemstone, within the mountain ranges of Valoran. The mural wasn't very clear, but it described an exchange between then Lunari and a fish-woman, a figure with human features in her upper half but with the tail of a fish. My ancestor gave the fish-woman that moonstone, and she in return handed over a pearl. The pictures never showed what happened to your people afterwards, but we used your pearl as the centerpiece for our weapons," she told her, holding up her crescent blade to show a small, white stone embedded in the handle.

"Unfortunately, they neglected to specify which set of mountains it was, so if we were to search, we might be at it for a while." She sat there, intensely thinking about something, muttering a few numbers to herself. "The trek, at maximum, would take six months if we hurried."

"So you would help me?" she asked, hope rising in her heart that she would actually have a chance to save her people.

"You seem to be the only ones on Runeterra who recognize the power and glory of the moon," Diana stated. "For years I was running away from the Solari without purpose. There were no Lunari left on the continent I could turn to. But you've been the only one to understand me so far. I'll find you your moonstone."

"And I will bring you to my people," she promised. "I suppose it might be a bit strange, seeing as you can't breathe underwater, but our powers can fix that," she added on, letting out a small laugh.

"Thank you," Diana answered her graciously. " And I gladly accept your offer, Marai."

"You can just call me Nami," the mermaid told her.

They shook on their respective promises, a deal created in solitude with nothing to witness it apart from the watchful glow of the full moon.

* * *

**A/N: **The idea was really bugging me so I drew up the first chapter.

Don't expect much work to be done about this very often, as I'm focused on continuing Trinity. I guess I'm a bit obligated to update kind of regularly since it's already out in the open. Welp.


	2. Liberate

In every arrow she shot, Nami could see a purposeful intention just as determined as her own flying through the air, always fated to strike the target true.

One of her first friends at the Institute, the newly crowned queen of the Freljord was a surprisingly down-to-earth woman, whose words were as plain and straightforward as the clothes she wore. Nami didn't know much about kings and queens and all that monarchical business surface dwellers liked to talk about, but Ashe didn't appear to her as any different from the regular person. They had paired together a few times as marksman and support, and Ashe had greeted the Marai every time with genuine nicety as they set out on their task out on the rift. The combination had proven to be quite potent, with either of the two being able to follow up on one good initiation the other had set. Not many were able to walk away from the consecutive lockdown chain of a crystal arrow, a tidal wave, and an imprisoning bubble. Even the usually resilient Taric only barely escaped with his life, a feat only made possible with some quick thinking from the opposing marksman, the Arrow of Retribution, who had managed to snare them in his corrupted tendrils long enough for the gem knight to distance himself far away from them.

The pair's success had enticed Ashe to offer Nami a substitute position on one of the teams which competed every spring for the title of Masters of Valoran. The schedule was currently in its last week before playoffs, and the results of the last match would determine if Ashe's team, Blizzard, achieved a first-round bye before actually competing in the playoff round. Nami had eagerly accepted the offer, curious to get involved in high class tournaments and determined to show the surface world what she was capable of. Anything to raise awareness within the continent of her and her people's plight. It would also additionally give them a week of respite before the playoffs started for them, allowing her and Diana to begin their preliminary work in searching for the moonstone.

Blizzard was a fairly idiosyncratic team, an odds and ends compilation of champions who didn't seem like they would go well together, but actually synergized fairly effectively. Rather than aligning herself with the expected cast of fellow Freljordian champions such as Tryndamere, Nunu, and the Cryophoenix herself, Anivia, Ashe had constructed a team with all different kinds of allegiances. Their regular support, Sona, wouldn't be starting in the last week as rival teams had developed strategies to render the pair of her and Ashe fairly useless in the bottom lane; while they still managed to pull off wins due to more effective strategizing later on in matches, Blizzard had decided they wanted some fresh tactics to throw the enemy off in order to relieve pressure off other lanes.

Their top lane choice was perhaps the strangest choice of them all. Singed was one of the last names one would think the Frost Archer would choose to associate with, but the chemist's performance on the Fields of Justice was frightening as he added a layer of tactical genius which many teams did not expect from the Zaunite. His own motivations were more dubious, as several champions, most from Ionia, had urged her to replace him because he would likely use any winnings he received from the tournament to further his own chemical weapon development. Ashe had to convince Irelia several times that the Institute was keeping a close eye on his laboratory to ensure the only productions coming from it were more domestically targeted.

Filling the position of jungler was a much more orthodox choice and one acquisition Ashe was very fortunate to get. Jarvan IV of Demacia had proven himself to not only be a capable successor to the Lightshield throne, but also an effective jungler whose pressure and cunning in the early stages of the matches were rivalled by only a few other champions, and his utility extended later on as he served as a front line to lead their team into battle. His addition to the team was a multipurpose decision: both parties wanted to further relations between their two countries and their alliance on a team in the League would certainly bolster interpersonal relationships. It had taken him a little coaxing when he saw that Singed would be on the same team, but after some legal explanations from Ashe, he had accepted, almost wearily falling back into his role.

That left the position of mid laner, arguably one of the most important choices because of the volatility of that lane. Safer picks, those who were not countered easily so they could prove their relevance even when not getting a lead, had become the monthly flavor, with champions like Orianna and Morgana showing a rise in effectiveness as games turned less towards individual play and more towards teamfight dynamics. Employing an assassin on your team was a risky move, as if they didn't do their job properly, they would more than likely result in being dead weight when they warranted the entire focus of the enemy team and were instantly deleted.

So it was a great (yet welcoming) surprise for Nami when she found out their mid laner was Diana.

She was a little known champion in comparison to the superstar personalities like Katarina or Zed, who were widely acclaimed throughout the League's circles for their ability to effortlessly take out priority targets in fights and slip away as if nothing had happened. Diana had her share of raw power, but she lacked a reliable way of actually getting out once she had committed to a fight. But Ashe must have seen something in the Lunari, who admittedly did very well not only against the vulnerable mages that populated mid lane but also the other assassins who thrived on one-on-one matchups.

Oddly enough, it was Singed of all people who provided an explanation for choosing the Scorn of the Moon over any other popular midlaner when Nami came to her first Blizzard meeting after joining the team.

"She is not just an assassin. She is a very capable teamfighter as well," Singed had lectured. "When you construct a team composition such as ours, with very in-your-face fighters, we decided we'd also have our mid laner jump in along with us and stay for the extended battle rather than slip away after her work is done. The surprise factor is what we work off of."

After a tedious day of going over strategy, opening jungle routes, and the playstyle of their next opponent, Nami once more found herself at the little pond atop the Champion's Hill, relaxing in the moonlight before their pivotal match would take place the following day. Accompanying her, unsurprisingly, was Diana. The two had gotten much more friendly over the past few days as they had shared their life stories and ended up on the same team. It surprised Nami how open the moon's envoy was acting, taking her boots off and venturing to dip her toes into the water.

"Isn't it cold?" the mermaid wondered.

"Not quite," Diana answered. "It's not the most optimal temperature, but it's nothing I wouldn't be able to manage. It's just good to get my feet out in the open from all that training we went through today."

"Definitely," Nami agreed. "Are you nervous? From what I've heard, Fizz has been doing really well recently." Her fellow marine champion was one of her good friends, due to their experiences with life under the waves, and although he was very good-natured in person, he was quite the relentless assassin on the Fields of Justice.

"I'm confident," Diana replied bluntly. "It doesn't matter how fast he moves if he has to come next to me to actually hit me. Other matchups are more challenging when they have some sort of damage they can inflict from afar, but frankly, I don't think he stands a chance. Just keep your eyes out when he does venture out of lane. The bugger tends to do that a lot."

"I promise," said the Marai. For a few seconds they sat there, taking in the ambient sounds of crickets chirping from the bushes in the vicinity.

"I'm more worried about you, honestly," Diana commented, breaking the silence. "What your lane opponents lack in consistency they make up for unpredictability. I never consider Blitzcrank to be completely out of the question when it comes to dealing with him, and as for that rat, Twitch… I don't even know where to begin."

Nami stifled a giggle, remembering the last time they had encountered the Plague Rat. On an attempt to take him out from under his turret, Diana was just about to dash to him to secure the kill when he had turned invisible at the last second, resulting in her taking an unnecessary tower shot before he reappeared behind her and was able to finish her off.

"They just want to catch us off guard. If we stick together, there's no way they can surprise us," Nami assured her.

"For both our sakes, I would hope so," Diana muttered. Another pause lingered in the air. She wasn't the greatest conversationalist, but Nami never expected someone nearly killed by her own people to be a master in day-to-day discussion.

"Tell me, why did you join the League, Diana?"

Continued silence. The Lunari was not at all surprised at the question, but she required a few seconds to gather her thoughts before answering.

"There was no other way for me. If I wanted to survive and show to Valoran the power of the moon, the Institute was the only place I could turn to."

"Did you not want to get your revenge on Leona?" Nami prodded. "It seemed like you wanted to put an end to the Solari for what they did to you."

"As much as I would like to end her and expose that worshipping the sun is a fraud, I cannot do that on Institute grounds. There was no point in pursuing her here for vengeance. All I can do is preach by example. Every time I strike the Radiant Dawn down in battle, I only hope there is someone out there who finally notices the true deity in the sky," Diana sighed. "You may have thought me impulsively violent when you first laid eyes on me. But I believe in placing the moon higher up rather than taking the sun down."

Nami nodded solemnly. "I'm glad you're focusing on your goals, then. I understand that she and all the other Solari wronged you, but I could never approve of you hurting others, no matter what they do to you."

"You seem quite protective of people," Diana noted. "Both for my own sake and Leona's." Her eyes flared a blue hue which made Nami lean back a little reflexively. "You cannot possibly understand what they did to me, what pain arises inside of me every time I feel the sun burn my skin. My final catharsis will only come to me when I see those betrayers burn to the ground."

Diana sounded angry, but her voice did not raise a single note, her tone remaining cool and controlled. "But as I said, my deepest wishes cannot come true as of now. All I can do is fulfill yours. And at least it is better than running away forever."

The Tidecaller smiled. "And that's all I ask of you. I can never thank you enough for putting your time aside to help me with what little I have."

Diana patted her crescent blade. "You can start by winning tomorrow."

* * *

Where there should have been a corpse, there lay only a large pile of embers which filled the shallow basin which marked the lair of the dragon. The prince of Demacia lowered his hand which he had raised to utilize the smite command as he began to recall to base, having suffered wounds from the close fight which had just transpired.

"Very well done," came the praise from a tepid voice in the headsets which all the team members wore. It had taken some time for Nami to get used to the itch in the side of her head, but after a few minutes she was fine. Singed hadn't been at the fight as he spent his time pressuring top lane, but amazingly, he had been able to call the shots from the information Jarvan and Nami had provided him as he continued to keep the enemy top laner, Maokai, on the other side of the map.

"I'm going to take the bottom tower before going back to base," Ashe relayed as Nami had started her own recall after putting down a few wards in the enemy team's jungle.

"Good, good," Singed replied in their ears. "I'm not sure I can push down this tower with this damned treant just sitting in my poison and not breaking a sweat. It looks like I'll have to proxy."

"Are you sure about this?" the gruff voice of Jarvan queried.

"I'll be fine," Singed assured the prince. "You all should be focusing on acquiring their middle turret, however; it's unfortunate that Fizz has been able to keep our minions off it as well as he has."

Nami knew there was a silent underhanded jab at Diana for not doing her job properly, as the Lunari hadn't been having the greatest game, having given up a couple of kills to the fish a bit early on. She had made up for it with a nice three-man Moonfall at the dragon to set up Nami's own bubble so Ashe could relentlessly pour down arrows from afar. As it stood, their own middle turret was in danger of following, an objective the enemy was looking to take down.

Nami therefore had went on her way down to the middle lane, where the enemy team was indeed trying to respond with their own push while Singed lingered in vain top lane trying to be as much of an annoyance as he could. Where he lacked in flashy damage output he made up for in pressure and strategy, but it seemed the resilience of Maokai was proving to be too much for him to handle.

Not many of the enemy team was there, however, as Nami could only catch sight of Fizz hanging a bit back behind the minion line and Twitch doing his best to push their team's minions towards the base, although the area of effect damage Diana and Ashe were able to pull off neutralized the threat fairly quickly.

"Situation at mid looking alright for us," Jarvan reported. "No sign of Blitzcrank or El -"

"Oh shit," Singed cursed, uncharacteristic of him. The hiss of an arachnid was faintly audible on his microphone. "The damn spider's on me." He stopped talking as they could hear a robotic hand extend and pull him, much to the chemist's dismay. A thwomp followed as the robot slammed a fist into his torso, knocking him up in the air as Singed did his best to evade the three of them as long as he could. Though he was surprisingly fast, there was no outrunning the steam golem forever.

"Go on! Fight! Dive them if you have to!" Singed demanded, his breath labored as he continued running.

"Are you sure?" came Diana's uncertain voice.

"Let's go!" Nami interrupted as she sent forth a tidal wave at Twitch, who was in the middle of eyeing a particularly appetizing cannon minion. The rat, unable to dash out of the way on his own, flashed as he attempted to go invisible to evade the team, but Nami had chased after him and placed a vision ward in the vicinity in order to scry the elusive rodent.

An icy arrow came flying by as she continued following him, managing to nip Twitch's tail as Jarvan had come from over a wall, slamming unceremoniously onto the marksman in a cataclysm that trapped the two of them together. The rat went down easily, but Fizz had jumped onto Ashe, who was retreating back as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to evade the bait which Fizz had tossed onto her, and she could only scream in terror as a gigantic shark arose out of the ground to instantly consume her. Nami aimed a bubble at him, trying to keep him in one place, but the trickster nimbly vaulted away on his trident as he switched targets, his eyes on the Marai. She knew she couldn't outrun him, and backed away towards Jarvan, who admittedly wasn't the healthiest after weathering a few of Twitch's poison shots.

Fizz was onto her now, his trident cutting into her skin, his attacks burning her flesh. Her sight was momentarily blinded as a flash of moonlight passed by her eyes, and in a second, Diana was there between her and Fizz. She summoned the power of the moon to draw the fish in as she kept swiping at him with her sickle. The aquatic assassin tried to finish off Nami while at the same time staying out of range of Diana as much as he could, but Jarvan was able to interrupt the fish's movements with a dash to his flag planted on the other side of Fizz, who was knocked up from the impact as Diana was able to jump on him once again, pale orbs of light cycling around her and erupting upon making contact with the fish.

"A shut down," Singed remarked. "That will work. Now you can take their middle turret, but be prompt about it. Elise will be on you in about ten seconds." Nami had only made it out of the fight with a sliver of health, so she was wary about standing too close to enemy territory as she gave the tower a few prods with her staff before retreating back to the safe ground near her own tower. Fortunately, Jarvan and Diana were able to eliminate the monument, dodging a close pull from Blitzcrank before stepping back as well.

"It's looking like smooth sailing from here!" Nami cheered.

"Let's not be too hasty," Ashe cut in on her celebration. "There's still a ways to go, and they're going to realize Singed isn't doing much out of being an annoyance. They'll be looking to bring Maokai into their skirmishes now, and he's very powerful. We're going to keep up our play if we're going to win."

"I won't fail you," the Lunari promised.

* * *

Ashe's ominous warning was starting to take its toll as the enemy team figured out how they were going to answer Singed's repeated wandering all over the map. Though he was, on many times, even standing in their base spreading poison all over to take out their minions, the only times that he was going to come close to taking a tower, he was only met by Elise, who was able to stop his pushing as she sent her spiderlings after him to keep him busy. He couldn't ignore them as he ignored Maokai, for her ability to do damage to him from afar and the silken cocoons she threw at him allowed her to stay out of range from the adhesives which he was hoping to trap her in.

With Maokai now playing a role in the fights, positioning was more important than it ever was. A slight misstep Nami made resulted in Blitzcrank running out of a bush and taking her towards him with a pull from his outstretched hand. While the team made their way to assist her, Maokai was able to run towards Ashe and lock her down while Fizz made sashimi out of her. Meanwhile, Twitch had popped out from one of their flanks and was able to reign terror, the element of surprise and the steam golem's stubbornness effectively taking out Diana a couple of times as well. Jarvan was trying his best to trap the rat in his cataclysm, but Twitch was starting not to mind when he could simply hold his ground and shoot all of them down.

The enemy team was then able to secure the boon granted by the Baron Nashor, forcing Blizzard to huddle in their base, taking out the empowered minions who were knocking on all three lanes' doors. Tensions were rising between Ashe and Singed, the former complaining about the latter's lack of presence with the team which resulted in her always being singled out by Fizz and issuing no damage to aid them.

"You have to be out on their front lines disrupting them so no one comes close to me," Ashe insisted. "Your poison on the field is sure to zone them out."

"It won't be doing much to stop the treant or the spider to come at you if you take one step too far at their team," Singed countered. "I don't think we'll be able to take them on if we go in five on five, so we have to continue this splitting tactic. Make them greedy to dive our turrets and maybe I can get us an advantage elsewhere on the map."

"They can dive us though!" the Frost Archer argued. "Do you see what that fish does to me? Nami can't even stop him with a bubble because he's able to hop over it like it's nothing!"

"That is no fault of mine. Get your support to land more skillshots," Singed dryly answered.

"Enough of your squabbling," Diana cut in, her voice like an icicle piercing through the chest. "Just get back here, they're about to go on us again."

"As much as I would like to do so, _lunatic_," Singed spat, "I'm already halfway down the bottom lane with a sizable group of minions. Can't you just hold for a few more seconds?"

"We're going to lose!" Diana cried out. "Just start your teleport now!"

A burst of speed erupted from Maokai's roots, signalling the activation of their Righteous Glory. Ashe immediately backed away, Nami able to slow their advance with a tidal wave as the enemy team attempted to maneuver around the inhibitor turret around which Blizzard was hugging. With no other better target in sight, the treant settled on jumping onto Jarvan to root him in place as Elise sent out her spiders to attack the prince, one of them exploding on impact. Fortunately, Jarvan had acquired a high level of armor and resistance to magic, which enabled him to take their punishment without too much of a hassle. By this time Singed had materialized behind the enemy team, ingesting one of his special potions and running amok through their back lines, scattering poison all over the field to cause them to reposition. A vision ward dropped in the area revealed Twitch trying to sneak away, but he had unfortunately come within range of Diana, who was able to land a bolt of moonlight onto him. As soon as the energy hit the rat, Nami knew it was over as Diana leapt onto him, instantly taking him out.

The other team was putting up quite a fight, however, and Ashe only barely managed to flash away from Fizz threatening to drop another fish onto her. He still jumped on her, however, and the archer only barely lived thanks to a well-timed bubble from Nami and the summoner spell exhaust being used to reduce the assassin's damage. With Fizz in retreat over the wall of their base, the bottom lane pair turned their attention to Maokai, who was threatening to jump on the still low-health Ashe. Transfusing his energy into the ground, he was able to get through Jarvan and Nami to Ashe, who was still trying to sidestep the tree's blows but was in danger of falling once more. Diana was making her way from behind her, dropping a Moonfall on the tree after closing the gap on Maokai, enabling Ashe to slink away and retreat to her base fountain to regenerate her health. A few blows from Jarvan allowed Diana to secure the second kill as she was then pulled by Blitzcrank into a cocoon from Elise.

The Demacian prince was able to attract some attention towards himself as he leapt at the spider queen, creating walls in a circle around the two as he struck her with the lance as much as he could, getting Elise to focus some of her effort on him instead of Diana. Neither jungler was making too much headway, however, as Fizz was able to rejoin the fight and evade the clutches of Singed, who was lagging far behind the trickster despite having a good deal of speed on him. Jarvan, who had already suffered a fair bit of damage from earlier in the fight, fell to a few blows from Fizz, who now turned his attention on Nami once more, who had gotten knocked up by the steam golem's powerful rocket fist.

There was no escaping the damage the enemy team poured onto her, as she was fairly weak due to only building items used for utility to protect the team rather than herself. As she experienced the sensations of artificial death and sat in the respawning chamber, watching the rest of the battle unfold, she saw Ashe make her way back to the battle just as Singed and Diana were able to take down Blitzcrank and get a nice adhesive trap planted on the spider's landing spot as she tried to rappel over a wall to escape.

With Fizz left on the enemy team, running far away from Singed and Diana, Nami thought they'd only be able to take down a nexus turret at the most before the rest of the enemy team would return, but a miraculous crystal arrow shot by Ashe managed to nip Fizz right as he landed from a premature hop on his trident, giving Diana just enough time to land her crescent of energy at him and finally take him out.

"PENTAKILL!" the announcer's voice boomed.

"Well," Singed said simply, his microphone silent in shock of Diana's performance. "That was impressive, I suppose. Let's go and finish this game."

"Are you kidding?" Nami yelled at him from the respawning chamber. "That was amazing, Diana!"

"Where's my credit?" Ashe demanded jokingly. "I set her up completely!"

"Guys, guys," Jarvan cut in, attempting to quell the dispute. "It's good enough that we managed to secure a pentakill, but look at the reality. We've got the first round bye! End, end, end!"

A chorus of applause and cheers crackled throughout Nami's microphone as Singed, Ashe, and Diana marched up to the enemy nexus, but she realized there was a voice missing from the fanfare.

"Diana?" she called out through the headset.

"I'm alright," the Lunari whispered back, barely audible amidst the excitement. "Thank you. We actually managed to pull through."

"We did it," the Marai agreed.

She felt the breeze of cold air take her back out of the chamber and into the post-match lobby as the fragments of the enemy nexus exploded signalling victory. She turned to her teammates, exchanging hugs with Ashe, Jarvan, and even a cordial handshake with Singed, before turning to her last teammate. Diana was leaning heavily on her blade, weary after her tremendous efforts, and managed a smile throughout the fatigue.

_The moon does also rise_, Nami thought.

* * *

**A/N: **I deliver. It took me almost three weeks but it was hard to come up with things alongside writing Trinity (which I'm also slow to work on, but I blame exams).

I didn't expect the match to take so long. This story isn't going to be as long as I'm intending Trinity to be, hopefully, and I was aiming for a 3k or so chapter. Funny what battle scenes do to your word count. Their actual quest will come soon, I just needed a catalyst to actually let them get out of the Institute because you don't just walk out for a bit when you're a champion.


	3. Leverage

Their backs were covered by the final dying rays of the sun as they entered the private train car which would take them to the Ironspike Mountains. It was a fitting time for someone like the Scorn of the Moon to begin a journey, Nami thought.

Locomotion on land was quite awkward, to say the least, for the Marai. When she had made her first advances onto the steps of the Institute of War, she drew the attention of many curious eyes as she rode along a wave which she had summoned up to carry her along. Upon seeing Nami first "walk" upon the land Diana had compared her bobbing motion to someone riding on horseback, not that the Tidecaller could ever affirm the similarity between the two motions. She did ride giant seahorses and dolphins a couple of times during her life under the sea, but the aerodynamics of guiding a steed in water and on the land were quite different.

"I'm curious as to how the force of that water is maintained," Diana had wanted to know. "I suppose the magic comes from your staff, but I feel that would lead to some violation of energy conservation."

Nami tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know much about the scientific part of it, but rather than the staff's power, the water's more linked to me. As long as I don't feel tired or anything, I could keep the wave up for as long as I want. I still try to find as much water as I can, though, because it does rejuvenate me."

"I see," came Diana's response, and that was all there was to it. The Lunari wasn't surprised, then, when one of the seats in their train car had been removed, replaced by a basin of water the size of the missing seat in which Nami could relax. Diana took the regular seat opposite the basin and was able to look at Nami face to face as the platform had been elevated to grant them similar eye levels.

"It's quite the accommodation," Diana noted, a small smile appearing on her lips as Nami lounged lazily in the basin, as if treating it like a hot tub. "The Institute never ceases to amaze me."

Nami nodded, swishing around to change positions. "Even though they didn't have time to help me myself, I guess with all this powerful magic at their disposal it wasn't difficult to make all this for me." Even her living quarters were specifically fit for her aquatic lifestyle. Since neither of the women aligned themselves with a particular faction, they were able to take their pick of housing within the independent quarters. Hardly the sociable type, Diana had chosen one of the rooms in the far corner of the district, fixated on maintaining her isolation while she focused on carrying out her duties as a champion. When Nami arrived, however, and quickly made friends with the avatar of the moon, Diana had requested reassignment in order for her living quarters to be closer to Nami's, a specially-constructed studio with a large tub of water located where the bedroom would normally be. It was much easier for her to relocate than Nami, so she had done so out of consideration for her friend, an act which surprised the Tidecaller. Even around her, Diana was always a bit stiff and reluctant to open up, so selfless decisions were hardly characteristic of the dark valkyrie.

Diana frowned. "So an institution this powerful has little regard for the destiny of its combatants," she growled.

The Marai shrugged. "I guess you could say that? In the whole history of my people, we've never relied on anyone besides that landwalker to give us the moonstone. This time it was a bit tougher, but I did find you at the Institute. That's really all I need."

"I still dislike their disregard of the gravity of your situation. I do not believe any other champion has a more pressing motive than yours," Diana insisted. "The conflict with Noxus has been finished, so the Ionians are in no great danger right now. The law enforcement of Piltover is only here on a personal agenda of the Sheriff's, and the two great city-states continue on their charade of squabbling for power without anything ever getting done. The only case I could make is for the Queen of the Freljord, and even in her situation the danger comes from a rival faction rather than the cruel hand of fate."

Nami couldn't find the words for a proper response, choosing to remain in silence as Diana took the moment to continue. "Even my own desires… there is a degree of selfishness. There is no hope for me to save my people as you can. All I have are fleeting shadows, ghosts of the past that I cannot bring back. Still, I feel my life would not be complete without exacting revenge on the Solari."

"You would double the pain of losing your fellow Lunari by also slaughtering the other half of your civilization," Nami figured.

Diana gave a pained nod. "When it all comes down to it, our whole existence was flawed. We were too ambitious, and they were too stubborn. In the end, when I finally get to confront the Radiant Dawn and finish it all… then we will know."

* * *

To the townsfolk of Arabahn, two champions of the League showing up in their town was quite the news headline.

The closest town to the Ironspike Mountains on the railways from the Institute of War, Arabahn lay on the banks of the Serpentine River, near the Howling Marsh, and housed a significant wandering gypsy population who used the swampy frontier as a sort of base of operations. Not much business could be found in the outskirts of the land around Demacia, so its inhabitants lived a fairly quiet life apart from the chaotic political cyclone which was the Institute of War and the relationships of the city-states which formed around it.

That wasn't to say that there was absolutely no connection between the town and the League, for one of their own was actually a champion with quite the following. Twisted Fate, the Card Master himself, traced his origins back to Arabahn long before he got caught up in the magical experimentation and misadventures with Malcolm Graves which led to his notable teleportation powers. Thus, a majority of the town took it upon themselves to keep the community updated with the accomplishments of Twisted Fate, letting them become acquainted with most of the other champions in extension.

Neither of the two women were fairly popular as they were both recent additions to the League, but the residents at least knew Diana from her status as a midlaner who sometimes went up against Twisted Fate in the center of Summoner's Rift. The matchup was very well suited in her favor, but the gypsy had the advantage of appearing anywhere on the map quicker than she could move and so could make plays surrounding a team while Diana often created openings on her own.

Despite her portrayal as a kind of nemesis to the hometown hero, the inhabitants of Arabahn received both her and Nami very generously, but for an entirely different set of reasons. A stout, long-haired man with a fairly impressive mustache stood at the head of a delegation who had come to meet the champions. "Heroes of Valoran, would you be so kind as to grant us a huge favor?" the man, who seemed to be the mayor of the town, implored.

Diana, who held quite a bit of contempt for the term "hero," was about to answer but was cut off by her partner, who realized it would have been better off for her to do the talking as she was by far the more diplomatic and agreeable of the two. "We'd love to help if we can. What seems to be the problem?" Nami asked.

The mayor pointed to the marshlands in the distance. "As of recent weeks, our town has been ravaged by a mysterious beast who lives in the swamp. At first we only noticed some of our livestock gone missing - sheep and cattle weren't too big of a problem. But then when we sent some of our farm hands to go investigating, a few of the lads never returned. The survivors could only say that some great monster burst out of the swamp and took the boys into its mouth, swallowing them and then disappearing back into the water before they knew it. Its jaw seems to be enormous, as wide as the mouth of a cave. We would ask of you to take down this creature before any more of our youth perish to it."

Nami looked at the Lunari, who nodded grimly. Diana perhaps did not possess the greatest sense of justice, but if she was looking for reformation, making a good name for herself in the eyes of the townsfolk here would be a good step towards the realization of that goal. The Tidecaller turned back to the hopeful eyes of the mayor and gave her assent. "We'll do our best to stop it. Diana here is a powerful warrior, who can take on even the most horrible of creatures, even champions from the Void."

"On the Fields, my power is always awakened and at its full potential," Diana clarified. "I will need the blessing of the moon to utilize it when it comes to real battles." Her gaze shifted to the mayor, who flinched at the intensity of the Lunari's dark eyes. "If the beast would make itself known at night, that is when I could best fight it."

The stout man stood there for a second, as if paralyzed by Diana's words, but found the strength to shake himself out of the trance. "Ah… yes, of course. The beast does make most of its moves when the sun is down, so you should have no problem harnessing the power of the moon to fight it." He bowed to the women, showing a bit too much respect as he kept his eyes down. "We are very grateful for your assistance. If you two are in need of any food or drink, we would be happy to serve you at the tavern." The mayor pointed at a large building behind the crowd, a red-roofed establishment which looked fairly new compared to the rest of the structures.

Nami gave a warm smile in hopes of getting the man to loosen up. "Thank you, we'll gladly take up your offer. While we eat, you can tell us everything you've seen about the creature. We'll need to make a proper battle plan if we're to defeat it."

"Of course, of course!" the man repeated profusely. "It would be our town's greatest honor to serve other champions as we first did with our boy. Since we already know your names, I must introduce myself. Your servant Balion is at your command."

Nami thought she saw the slightest bit of interest rise in Diana's face. "Balion? That is not a name I've heard north of the Great Barrier often. You are a migrant, I suppose?" the Lunari asked.

"That is correct, my lady," the mayor responded. "I must confess that I come from the region around Mount Targon, but I never had the privilege to go any higher than the villages of the Rakkor."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "A fellow Targon resident. So you never associated with the Solari."

The crowd around them seemed to tense up, realizing Diana's hatred of the Solari. Nami didn't like where the situation was going either. If Balion spoke one wrong word, he might've found his chest sliced open by Diana's scythe. She could only hope that the mayor of the town was wise enough not to utter any words about the Solari lest he give Diana the wrong impression.

"Of course not, my lady!" he stammered. "My hometown never dabbled in the religion of Mount Targon. With our proximity to the Shuriman Desert, the days were always long and hot, while the night's cool air never seemed to last long enough. I grew up as a single farmer, knowing nothing else but the trade for all of my life, and I dedicated myself solely to the crops in my field, not to the sun in the sky or anything!" The mayor had dropped to his knees in fright. His hands were trembling by the end of his confession, forehead glistening with sweat as he struggled to make the words come out of his mouth.

The Lunari's expression softened by millimeters. "So you have also realized the moon's wonderful power. Compared to the hellish fireball, whose light merely scorches and destroys, the moon is our true deity."

"We were always a community who acknowledged the full potential of the Silver Orb in the sky," a brave voice from the crowd dared to utter. Stepping forth, a younger man came forth, holding a deck of cards which he absentmindedly shuffled in his hands. Drawing the top card of the deck, he revealed how the card had the insignia of the crescent moon on it. "The Moon represents vigilance, reverence, protection. By the tarot cards which govern us all, she is our benevolent guardian. Though we may not share the same exact practices, Lunari, our creed is the same."

Diana seemed convinced at the younger man's explanation, choosing to drop the matter. "Very well. Proceed to your tavern, Balion," she commanded as the terrified mayor quickly got up from his kneeling position and hastened towards the red building. Nami chose to withhold giving any sort of her opinion from Diana, seeing that the Lunari was still highly alert and on edge about the situation, and hurried along behind the lunar warrior's measured footsteps. Whether the community truly also revered the power of the moon or twisted their beliefs to synchronize with Diana's, Nami would have to find that out later, but first came the issue of refreshment and finding a way to deal with the monster which had been terrorizing the village.

A hundred yards away, a dark, four-legged creature slipped back into the thicket, stretching its jaw and whetting its lips in anticipation.

* * *

**A/N: **I haven't abandoned this, just slow going. But today's champion teaser gave me the material I needed to write in a little side conflict for Nami and Diana as they actually make their way towards the mountains. I love the implied connection to Twisted Fate, gives some stuff to work with regarding that geographical region which I was very puzzled at when I looked at the Valoran map.

The story also seems to get into the psyche of Diana a lot more than Nami even though it's from her view, but it's because Diana's got a huge basis for character development insofar as how ruthless she became after her incident with the Solari. If you like more action, the next chapter would give it to you.


End file.
